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Wednesday, January 16, 2013

New year, new wish list. I’ve been with TBA a year now and
it’s been terrific fun watching the market evolve and refining my own tastes. My
client roster is growing, so here’s what I’m looking for this year:

Middlegrade fiction! Especially…

Funny, contemporary stories about real kids in real
situations

Stories that feature a strong sibling dynamic

Adventure stories

Literary fiction with a strong voice

Young adult fiction! Especially…

Romance, either contemporary or historical

Funny contemporary fiction with a ‘hook’ -- think ROCKOHOLIC: ‘Girl kidnaps the
rock star she’s obsessed with and hides him in her garage!'

Time travel (I said I wanted it last year, and I got tons –
I don’t need any more right now)

Stories set in the 1980s

High fantasy, for the most part. I’ve been suffering from
‘fantasy fatigue’ for the last year or so, and it took THE GIRL OF FIRE AND
THORNS to snap me out of it. But if you've written something as personality-driven and
engrossing as that, send it to me

I’m actively looking for projects from authors in the U.S.
and the U.K. (and elsewhere, of course, but British publishers are clamoring
for U.K.-based authors who can actively participate in promoting their books).

If none of the above describes your project, but you think
it might be a good fit for me, by all means send it along. I can’t wait to see
what 2013 brings to my inbox!

Wednesday, January 9, 2013

The beginning of 2013 marks just over three months since
I joined the Bent Agency. It’s been an exciting time, and I have to say I’ve
been impressed with the quality of my submissions. I rarely get queries for
genres I don’t represent, and most people remember to paste in the first ten
pages (or at least resend them immediately as instructed by my auto-response). I’m
lucky to have found my submissions a fun place to dive into!

At a recent conference, I was asked how I approached my
query inbox. I joked that I creep up on it slowly so as not to frighten it
away, while all the time thinking what a great topic for a blog post that
question would be.

How I read my queries

I go through queries from oldest to newest, and usually
check the inbox for half hour or hour at the beginning or end of the day. I read all queries myself, and usually the
same way - I glance at the genre and age range, skim read the plot/blurb/synopsis
part, and then head to the pages. From reading these, I make one of three
decisions.

1) Pass – the pages didn’t grab me enough and I wouldn’t
be the right agent to represent it.

2) Request – I loved the pages and after reading the
query more thoroughly, I also loved the concept. I only request fulls when I am
serious about reading the whole manuscript.

3) Maybe – I set these aside to come back to.

The maybe pile is the hardest one to make a judgement on. As I mentioned, I don’t
arbitrarily request fulls as I know how much anticipation and excitement this
request gives a writer. I want to ensure I really want to read the whole manuscript
before sending that email.

The maybe pile helps me with this. When I’m reading
queries, sometimes a submission can stand out as good because I’m comparing it
to a run of things that are really not right for me. However, when I look at it
fresh, I can make a better judgement. I have offered on things in my maybe
pile, so it’s not necessarily a bad place to be. With fresh eyes, I can often
think, ‘man, I wish I’d asked for this last night so I could read the next
chapter now!’

The types of things I’ve been requesting

·YA historical with great voice – my most
requested genre·Literary MG – again, I’ve requested a few of
these. ·Diverse MG in a paranormal/fantasy setting,
where the plot isn’t at all about diversity·YA with a psychological bent, or a clever
twist·YA retelling that feels fresh·YA Sci-Fi with boy POV·Gross-out chapter book/younger
fiction·Animal-based chapter book series·YA contemporary romance

What I have signed

I have signed a fantastic young fiction (8+)
with series potential - set in a Roald Dahl type world of not quite normal,
with a strong voice and amazing cast of characters.

I am also seriously considering a YA
historical murder/mystery that has Agatha Christie elements with a Downton Abbey feel.

What is still on my wish list

I wrote ablog post just before Christmas about
my favourite books of 2012 and a very detailed wish list.

Key things to take from this are:

·Boy POV – still very keen on this, but
tending more towards MG at the moment. Character driven or action/adventure.
Funny or high suspense. Please keep sending.

·Books that make me cry. I‘d love more heartwarming
stories that genuinely get under my skin.

·A YA romance. I want to fall in
love!

·Still on the historical kick, so
keep them coming. Any age, but I do prefer them to have a diary-type feel, so
generally 1st POV.

·Any sort of mystery/crime for YA
or MG, please!

You can send me children's or YA submissions to cooperqueries@thebentagency.com with your title and genre in the subject line, and your first 10 pages pasted under your query letter. Submissions guidelines can be found here. I'm really looking forward to seeing what 2013
has to offer. Happy to answer any questions in the comments.

Thursday, January 3, 2013

We are once again looking for two remote (unpaid) interns, people who like to read books by authors like:

Tana French

Eleanor Brown

Jacqueline Sheehan

Jodi Picoult

Gillian Flynn

Lori Roy

Laurie Notaro

Celia Rivenbark

Elin Hilderbrand

Kristin Hannah

Jeannette Walls

Kate Atkinson

This is an eclectic list, so obviously
you don't need to like everyone on it! But basically, you should like
at least two of the following genres: humor, memoir, upmarket
women's fiction and literary suspense.

You do not need to
have any kind of publishing experience or even publishing aspirations.
We are just looking for people who love books and love to read. You do not need to live in New York, this is a remote internship. Please note that it is unpaid.

Please send e-mail to nicole@thebentagency.com. Please put "generalist intern" in the
subject line. Tell us why you want the internship, attach a resume if
you have one although it's not essential, and list the last ten books
you read and your ten favorite books.

Please do not apply if you are
primarily a young adult/middle grade reader. It's fine if you do some
of that, but we already have our young adult/middle grade specialists
in place.

If you have applied in the past you are more than welcome to apply again.